By Dee Grenert Editor
CULVER — Two of Culver Community High School’s Business Professionals of America (BPA) national qualifiers shared a similar trait on stage at the state meet’s awards ceremony.
“They call the top 10 all up on stage, in no particular order,” senior Molly Hartman, advanced office systems & procedures state champion, explained. “They call names from 10th to first. With each name, I thought, ‘That’s not my name,’ until I was the only one left standing. Everyone said I had a goofy look on my face.”
Junior Ashley Jones, who will join Hartman and fellow classmates Lyndsey Fisher and Kylie Gunder at the national meet in New York City from May 8 to 13, reacted in a similar fashion to her fifth-place finish in medical office procedures during the state finals, March 4 to 6, in Indianapolis.

“I’m on stage and I’m so nervous,” Jones recounted. “I can’t hear the announcer. The lights are really bright. When we got down to the final five, they announced, ‘If you’re still standing, you’re going to nationals.’
“My jaw dropped and my mouth hung open,” Jones laughed. “I stood there looking stupid.”
Hartman certainly understood the emotion.
“After I realized I was state champion, my heart was racing. I could feel my pulse,” she recalled. “All I could think was, ‘I’m going to New York.’”
The trip to New York filled Jones’ mind as well.
“I’m all about the city,” she beamed. “I kept saying to Kylie, ‘We’re going to New York City!’ It’s so weird.”
Gunder added her own thoughts about the upcoming trip to the Big Apple.
“I can’t believe I’m going,” she said. “I can watch ‘Friends’ and see all the buildings in Midtown and know we’re going to see those buildings in person.”
And the trip won’t just be business. The students, all of whom are making their first appearance in New York City, plan to see “The Lion King” on Broadway and visit the Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero. They also hope to take a special events tour of the city, and if all goes according to schedule, attend a taping of “The Today Show.”
“The kids are going to be amazed by New York,” BPA advisor Mike Schwartz said. “I told this group when they were seventh and eighth graders that starting next year was the best time to be in BPA because the nationals were going to be in Anaheim, Orlando and then New York.”
Fisher probably needs some down time in the big city after her frenetic state finals competition.
The outgoing district president, Fisher not only finished runner up in graphic design, but she was also elected state vice president of administration.
Her campaign speech, which Schwartz termed “the most creative” of any candidate, won accolades from the electorate.
“I did my speech about fish, because of my last name,” she said with a smile. “It all went really well. I used a lot of fishing terminology. I had lines like, ‘I won’t try to lure you,’ and ‘I won’t get caught in the net.’”
As district president, she presented Jones with her fifth-place plaque and a hug.
She and her fellow officers also performed a skit. According to next year’s vice president, the group broke just about every presentation rule in the BPA book.
“We did a skit to ‘New York, New York,’” Fisher said. “We’re taught to be pretty professional. We were on stage laughing and doing things you don’t do in competition. Everybody was in the crowd looking at us with their eyes wide open. It was great.”
Amidst all of this activity, she found time to excel in graphic design, which requires a design and presentation, and grab the attention of another advisor.
“Another colleague told me, ‘I don’t know how she does all she does,’” Schwartz noted.
“I wish I would’ve gotten first,” Fisher admitted. “Now I’ve got to worry about that person at nationals.”
Schwartz quickly pointed out that state finishes don’t necessarily predict national finishing order.
“I equate it with ice skating and gymnastics,” he explained. “It’s all up to the judges. Presentation counts for a lot of the score.”
And while Fisher claimed that she planned to maintain her current presentation, Gunder expressed good-natured doubt.
“Lyndsey says she won’t change anything, but I know she’ll be making changes the night before, trying to make it better,” Gunder laughed.
Although Gunder fell short of qualifying for national competition herself, she will accompany her teammates as incoming district president.
“It’s kind of bittersweet,” Gunder admitted. “It would have been fun to compete, but it will still be fun because I get to go. It’s really cool to have five kids from Culver going.”
Justine Hoesel, a former Culver student who now attends Knox, qualified for Culver with a third-place mark in desktop publishing. The school allowed her to compete because Knox does not participate in BPA.
“All of these kids are strong students,” Schwartz concluded. “It’s all hard work.”